Tools. Can't find them, I have done everything that several places say they can help with this problem, and none of them work. Lots of gobbelde gook, but nothing happens. Could some one please (in plain english) tell me how to find them.

Downloads. I have done several of them, (Peter's Puzzles) but none show up anywhere. I gave our darling Peter my new Email, and that works just fine. But the others must have made a wrong turn somewhere. This never happened before the Trojan bit me. This blasted #7 is driving me bonkers.

What tools are you looking for? A program of some kind? A browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox? If it's IE, then look for a little gear icon - perhaps on the upper right? Or you can right click anywhere in an empty space at the top of the browser and select "menu" from the list. That will enable the IE menu to be seen and Tools will also be listed there. Not sure what you're looking for here.

Downloads are located in a file called Downloads. It's very easy to find. Click on your library icon - you should have one in your taskbar and it looks like a file folder in a blue holder. Look on the left at the top of the list of options. Downloads should be listed with the top 3 or 4 options.

If you can't find your library icon, just click Start and Computer. The same list will appear on the left side of the screen with Downloads somewhere near the top.

Mj2c,I think Draclvr managed to figure it out -- Granny is having problems understanding her web browser. She doesn't understand where "Tools" in the toolbar went (stupid modern browsers hide it by default) and doesn't understand where the Downloads folder is.

One of the first things I do when I set up a new computer is to set the web browser to unhide the Menu bar (which includes the Tools heading) and set the Download folder to prompt when it downloads something instead of automatically downloading to the Downloads folder without telling me where it's going.

So many web browsers try to force their "new clean look" down your throat and it's just annoying and useless.

I think they should have the default browser set up exactly opposite of how it is now. Leave the menu bar where it is and include the download prompt. For those who like the "lean" look, THEY can hide the menu bar and make the other changes. I can't tell you how many times I've made this simple change for people that isn't necessary to begin with. Annoying and useless is exactly my opinion too.

I like the option in Firefox for downloads. When the download is finished, before I close the download window, I can right click on the download and select "Open Containing Folder." It opens to the Download folder with my file already highlighted.

About the Tools, when I get stuck on something, I'm told to go to Tools, but there is never a way to get there on this blasted #7.

I did find the download folder (thanks Draclvr)but still could not get them in the Peter's Puzzles. So I moved them to the opening screen like the way they used to be run, no luck there either. When I try to open them, the 'puter flips me back to the page where everything ever DL is listed. I'm totally going crazy.

About the Tools, when I get stuck on something, I'm told to go to Tools, but there is never a way to get there on this blasted #7.

I think you're talking about IE, which doesn't have Tools displayed by default. But out of context I can't be sure which Tools you're talking about. I don't have Peter's Puzzles, so I'm not sure where the problem is.

If you could copy the instructions you were given and post them here, maybe we could figure out what they're trying to tell you to do. It should be possible to get your old puzzles to work if the new ones are working -- assuming the "Trojan" you're talking about didn't damage the puzzle files.

I have Peter's Puzzles too and all I do is go to the Download folder and double click them and they are installed into the Puzzle software. Sometimes I get a message saying the installation may not have been successful. I just close it as they always are installed successfully. Is this what you're seeing?

Like Jenny says, you've got to tell us what Tools you are talking about. Stuck on what?

OK, I'll start from the begining. When I start the 'puter, it opens to google Email. That's nice, but there is no option to open a Home page. so there is no line at the top with address's and all the other stuff. So I have lost being able to click on the places I always go to.

I get a Home page with FireFox, but the words are so tiny I have to use a large magnant to see them. When I try to reset the size, it jumps so large only part of the page can be seen, and I have to scroll back and forth and up and down, therefore it's a pain in the you know what.

I fiddle with the settings and that's when I'm told to use my Tools. Not being able to find Tools anywhere on the lists of programs, I mumble bad words over and over.

When you start your computer, for some reason it is opening directly into a browser? Your computer should first open to your desktop and then allow you to choose a browser. You are the one who sets your home page - the browser doesn't do it for you. But still, there is no reason for your computer to go to a browser when you first boot it up. Do you never see your desktop?

You say you don't even have an address bar at the top? It's possible that you have inadvertently tapped the F11 key which will open your browser in "full page." If that has happened, and you see nothing at all at the top of the windows, just tap F11 again and your address bar etc. should reappear.

Gmail is a web-based email program, so it has to open up in a browser. Somehow it appears Gmail has been set to be your "home page." Are you sure it's not the Google home page instead of Gmail? It would be very odd for a home page to be set to Gmail. In any case, there should be a search box somewhere. We still don't know what browser you are in, so please look down at the taskbar on the bottom of your screen. See which little icon is highlighted... IE or Firefox. That will help a lot.

Once you find your search box, simply do a search for whatever your preferred home page is. Once you get to your page, you will have to tell your browser to remember that page as your home page. Have you ever done what I suggested and right clicked in any blank space at the top of the window and selected "Menu" to get your menu back which will include Tools etc.? You will set your home page in the tools menu.

Now to size. I don't know what you've tried when you say things got too large, but here is how you change that. Right click anywhere on your desktop - assuming you can get to your desktop. Select Screen Resolution. There will be an option in blue that says, "Make text and other items appear larger or smaller." Click on it and in the next window you can select small, medium or large or customize the size. You can also choose to just change the text size, not the size of objects on the screen. It's all up to you.

OK, I'll start from the begining. When I start the 'puter, it opens to google Email. That's nice, but there is no option to open a Home page. so there is no line at the top with address's and all the other stuff. So I have lost being able to click on the places I always go to.

It sounds almost like a web browser popup that never went away -- or is maybe being retriggered by a setting in your registry. It's certainly not supposed to pop up until you open your web browser and ask it to, and I agree that the crippled popup version of the web browser is kind of useless. You could try checking the Startup tab in msconfig to see if something to do with a web browser is checked:

Click the Start button in the lower left of your screen. Typemsconfigin the Start Search and click the Enter key of your keyboard.At this point you may get a UAC prompt asking for your password. Give it the password and msconfig should start up.Select the startup tab.You should see a list of things with checkboxes beside them. If you see anything related to your web browser or email program, uncheck the box and OK the change. It will probably prompt you to reboot after you make changes. Reboot and see if the Desktop appears without the crippled webpage.

If you manage to get rid of the crippled web browser window opening when you start the computer, try starting IE and see if it has all your menus the way you like them.

Quote:

I get a Home page with FireFox, but the words are so tiny I have to use a large magnant to see them. When I try to reset the size, it jumps so large only part of the page can be seen, and I have to scroll back and forth and up and down, therefore it's a pain in the you know what.

When I use this method of zooming, Firefox "remembers" to zoom on this particular page the next time I visit.

Quote:

I fiddle with the settings and that's when I'm told to use my Tools. Not being able to find Tools anywhere on the lists of programs, I mumble bad words over and over.

I think they must mean the Tools in the web browser you're using. You wouldn't be scrolling back and forth and up and down on your Desktop.

The way to get Tools to appear in IE by default is different from the way to do it in Firefox. In IE9, you have to either use gpedit.msc (not available with Win 7 Home, but available in Pro and Ultimate) or you have to use a registry edit (either perform the edit manually or use a script).

***This site*** tells you how to do the registry edit, and also provides a link to a .zip file that contains a script that will make the change for you. The zip file will extract to a folder with two files:

Enable Menu Bar.regandDisable Menu Bar.reg

So to enable your menu bar in IE, you'd open the zip file and double click (or right-click and choose "Run As Administrator) the Enable Menu Bar.reg file to run it.

The other file (Disable Menu Bar.reg) is if you want to switch it back to the way it was before (invisible menu bar) for some reason.

I'm unsure if this requires a reboot or not, but if the menu doesn't appear in IE after running the Enable Menu Bar.reg file, try rebooting the computer.